A Different Way
by LoVeLoVeLoVe
Summary: Starts when Lilly's body is found. What if Veronica had told her dad to check the air vents? LoVe, AU
1. October 3rd

**A Different Way**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Pairing:** LoVe, maybe some Duncan/Meg

**Chapter one: October 3rd **

* * *

Veronica was shaking as she waited in her Dad's car outside the house of her best friend, Lilly Kane. There wasn't a spot to look that was void of flashing lights and officers of the law. She had been given strict instructions to 'stay put', but she knew something was up the moment she saw Duncan in the foyer, shaking just as she was. Her mind was so jumbled that she didn't noticed that the soccer uniform her wore was covered in blood. 

Still in her pep squad uniform, Veronica got out of the car and slowly approached her ex-boyfriend. She kneeled in front of him.

"Duncan, what's wrong?" she asked.

He didn't answer.

"Duncan, where's Lilly? What's going on?" she pushed.

He stopped shaking and looked directly into her eyes. Tired of waiting to be answered, Veronica stood up and followed the medical examiner, who had just arrived. They walked through the kitchen and out to the pool. There was a crowd, and of that crowd, was her father.

Then she saw blood.

And blond hair.

And the pep squad uniform.

Oh God.

"Lilly," Veronica whispered.

Along with a group of deputies, she saw her father start to head toward the house. If he saw her, she knew he would make her leave the crime scene, and she wanted answers; needed answers. So she turned away from him and let him pass.

It was then that she saw all of Lilly's dead body.

Tears flooded her eyes and she turned again, just in time to see her father ask Jake Kane something. Mr. Kane nodded and her father, along with his subordinates, took a left and headed down the hall. Somehow, Veronica knew where they were going.

Lilly's room.

She followed them, tears still gathering in her eyes. She knew the Kane house well, and he spent a lot of time here, but it looked so foreign to her that night. She didn't want to be there. No one tried to stop her or question why she was there as Veronica made her way to Lilly's room. To be frank, no one could have stopped her, gun or not.

Veronica didn't know how long she stood there, watching a group of men ransack her best friend's room; going through things that Lilly wouldn't want anyone to see. She knew this was necessary, that this may help find who ever ki- . . . took Lilly away.

And it was for that reason only that Veronica made her presence know.

"Check the air vents."

* * *

Her assumptions had been correct, of course. Her father had ordered her away and tossed her keys to the car. Veronica walked away just before Deputy Lamb handed three tapes to her father. 

She didn't drive home. The thought of spending another night in an empty house really didn't suit her. She didn't want to be alone tonight.

Veronica thought of calling Logan, but she knew he wouldn't answer his phone. He was still mad at her for telling Lilly about the whole Yolanda thing. She had no idea how she made it to the beach safely; her eyes were filled with the tears she refused to let spill

However, she slipped her shoes off and her feet were surrounded by the cool sand, she knew Logan wouldn't be a problem.

"Veronica Mars, fancy seeing you here!"

It was Logan and he was drunk. Very drunk.

"Ronnie! I know you can hear me, and I just wanted to tell you something," Logan slurred as he stumbled over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

"Logan," Veronica started.

"No. I'm glad you told Lilly, really. I'm through putting up with all of her crap. She can screw Weevil all she wants, because we're through!" he yelled. "So I kissed another girl, so what? She blew me off, again, and I didn't mean it. She's just going to have to come back to me this time, because I-."

"Logan!"

The look on his face let her know that he now realized that she was serious. It was if her look instantly sobered him. It had always amazed her how he could go from being drunk as hell to cold stone sober.

"Veronica, what's wrong? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"It's Lilly," Veronica whispered, dreading what she was about to say.

"What about her? Is she okay?" Logan asked, the worry written all over his face contradicting his previous statements about his supposed indifference to her.

Veronica shook her head, "No Logan, she's not okay." Veronica took a deep breath, "She's dead Logan."

His face fell and Veronica didn't know what to do. His eyes filled up with tears and that scared her. She couldn't remember ever seeing him cry.

After that night, however . . . .

One thing was for sure. Veronica Mars would always remember the way she held Logan Echolls that night as he cried.

* * *

Veronica Mars didn't know how she made it through the next few weeks. 

It was time spent with Logan and Duncan, who seemed to forget the fact that he had just dumped her. But Veronica wasn't going to bring it up. The two boys had each claimed themselves a guest room in her house. The three of them were friends, and Veronica was the one who made sure Logan didn't drink himself to death and the one to make sure Duncan ate a little each day and didn't forget to take his pills. Her broken relationship with him was the furthest from her mind, to tell the truth.

She hadn't cried yet.

Her house was chosen because it was the only that wasn't full of adults. Duncan's house was full of cops, and even if it wasn't, there was no way in hell the three of them would mourn in the house that Lilly was killed in. Logan's house was obviously out, considering his mom was drunk most of the time and his father was the prime suspect in Lilly's murder. In fact, he was the only suspect. He had already been arrested and was currently out on bail, but on house arrest. Duncan and Logan were actually currently residing in the two guest rooms in Veronica's house.

Another thing Veronica would never forget is the look on Logan and Duncan's face when they found out Lilly had been having an affair with Aaron Echolls.

Her Dad had told them, and Logan almost broke her hand after squeezing it so hard after hearing the news. Duncan had started laughing, and it was then that Veronica had learned about his epilepsy.

She also made trips to the Neptune Grand to make sure the elder Kane's didn't need anything. Mostly, she did it to keep busy, to take her mind of the fact that her best friend in the world had been murdered. Celeste had given her Duncan's pills and was actually nice to her. Jake was nice as well, but then again, he had always been nice to her.

09ers came to her house to pay their respects. Dick and Cassidy Casablancas stayed over for a few hours once. It was the first time Dick hadn't acted like . . . well . . . a dick.

Her mother didn't call, but Veronica didn't expect her to.

Her Dad was never home either, but he was Sheriff. His job was demanding. Still, he had pulled even more all-nighters at work since her Mom left.

She was just glad her house wasn't empty. Having guests gave her something to do, didn't give her time to cry. She didn't want to cry.

* * *

Lilly's funeral was held a week after her death. It would have been sooner, but the coroner needed to do an autopsy to find out her time of death and, even though it was quite obvious, just what had killed her. 

She assumed it was a project of Celeste, one that served as a tool to keep her busy and Veronica wondered what she would use now. The reception was held at the Mars'. After all, the Kane mansion was still a crime scene, and Veronica's house was somewhat large and could hold a decent amount of people.

Veronica and Celeste rushed around all afternoon to make sure everything was perfect. They had become allies in the sense that the men in their lives had finally started to realize that they were avoiding the real world. Logan was always trying to do things so Veronica didn't have to do it. Jake was badgering Celeste to sit down and relax. When either of the women saw the other being cornered they would make an excuse that would help the other escape.

It was strange to be on Celeste's good side.

Veronica made sure everyone had something to drink, even thought, as Logan pointed out multiple times, there were servers who made sure of that.

That night, after everyone was gone, Veronica sat in her room. All around her were pictures of her and Lilly, or her and Duncan, or of her, Lilly, Duncan, and Logan. Even though the three of them were under the same roof, still friends, she knew that they were all different now.

Tears filled her eyes as she caught a glimpse o herself in the mirror. The small diamond on the chain caught the light and sparkled. She remembered when Lilly gave it to her.

"_Wake up Veronica!" Lilly called as she skipped into Veronica's room._

_Veronica opened her eyes, "Lilly?" her voice was filled with sleep._

"_Happy Birthday!" Lilly screeched. _

"_What time is it? How did you get in?" Veronica asked._

"_God, always one for details; if you must know, it's midnight and I snuck in through the window in your living room," Lilly said as if it were common knowledge._

"_But that windows locked," Veronica replied automatically._

"_Yeah, well, I unlocked it yesterday. Enough of that, I need to give you your present!" Lilly exclaimed._

"_Can't you wait until my party?"_

"_No, I'm the best friend, I get to give you your present when I want," Lilly declared._

_Veronica smiled and sat up, "Okay, let's see it."_

"_Close your eyes," Lilly demanded._

_Veronica knew it would be useless to argue and complied. She felt Lilly move her hair to the side and then felt something around her neck._

"_Open!"  
_

_Veronica opened her eyes and looked down. There, around her neck, was a small, diamond encrusted V. _

"_Is that real?" Veronica blurted out._

"_Of course it's real. Your sixteen now Veronica, you need some bling,"she laughed. "So do you like?" Lilly asked._

"_Are you kidding? I love!"_

Tears filed her eyes before she could stop them and before she knew it she had broken out into full fledged sobs. Veronica didn't know how long she had been crying before two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her to a warm body.

It was Logan.

He held her as sobs racked her tiny body.

"She's . . . r-r-really g-gone," Veronica sputtered as Logan laid them down on her bed, letting her cry into his chest.

* * *

**So, this is m first foray into the world that is Veronica Mars. Please tell me what you think!**


	2. Back to School

**A Different Way**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Pairing:** LoVe, maybe some Duncan/Meg

**AN: **I don't have a beta for this fic so I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.

**Chapter two: Back to School**

* * *

Students around her were hurrying to their first period class while Veronica just stood, looking at her locker from a distance. She hadn't brought herself to go anywhere near it yet. The locker adjacent to it was, or at least it had been, Lilly's.

The surface of the locker was no longer visible. Pictures and cards now covered the yellow paint, even taking up the space of the unused bottom locker. Unlit candles and flowers were on the floor below the locker.

The late bell rang and the students around her quickened their pace as an attempt to not be marked tardy. Veronica just stood there. She didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to go to her locker and ruin the untouched makeshift memorial the students had set up for her late best friend?

Memories flooded her mind and she couldn't take it. It seemed like the walls of the school were closing in on her and she couldn't breathe; she had always been a little clausterphobic.

It was a Friday and Veronica thought that going back, even for one day, may help. So that she wouldn't have to face school for the first time on Monday. Veronica was wrong.

She had done all of her make-up assignments already. Meg Manning had brought them over for her, as well as Logan and Duncan's. It was another one of those mindless tasks that she had done to replace her thoughts of Lilly.

Veronica turned back around and left school. Once home, she climbed back into her bed and Logan's arm immediately fell across her waist, pulling her to him. She hadn't slept without him since the night of Lilly's funeral.

Veronica felt the tears well up in her eyes and didn't do a thing to stop them from cascading down her face. Somehow, Logan knew to pull her closer, and for that, she was thankful. Her father would have a fit if he walked in on this and she didn't care. She found that she needed him to sleep.

Veronica decided that she would try school on Monday.

* * *

The three of them ate dinner in a comfortable silence that was surprisingly broken when Keith Mars returned to his home. He had been sleeping at the office for a while, ever since Lilly Kane's murder.

There was always another piece of evidence to catalog, a form to fill out, or another statement to make to the press. Although, to tell the full truth, him spending more time at work and less at home had started when his wife left him a month ago. It was odd, really. She left to 'discover herself', to get away from Neptune; when moving to Neptune in the first place was her idea, her demand actually. It took him a few weeks before she left to realize why. Neptune was where Jake Kane was.

It had hurt, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Like the song goes, you can't make someone fall in love with you. But still, he was still mad with Lianne. How could he not be? Because of Lianne, Keith had had to doubt weather his daughter was, in fact, _his_ daughter.

She was though. It took a simple paternity test to clear that up. Being Sheriff had its benefits.

"Logan, Duncan," Keith greeted.

"Sheriff," they replied in unison.

Keith grabbed a slice of pizza from the cardboard box in the middle of the round table and sat at between Duncan and Veronica.

"How was school?" Keith asked.

The three teens shrugged. "I guess we'll find out on Monday," Duncan mumbled.

Keith nodded and decided to stop his attempt at small talk. He could see the three teens were content in pretending to eat their pizza.

"Well, I have to go. I'll be back sometime tomorrow," Keith said, grabbing another slice for the road.

As Keith Mars drove to his office, he realized he had been home for less than fifteen minutes. He decided that after all the commotion died down, after things got back to normal (whatever that was), he would be better.

As for now, however, he had to go to work.

* * *

Duncan Kane wasn't stupid.

He could sense something between his best friend and Veronica. He had seen him in her bed and, yeah, it hurt. Ever since his mother had told him that Veronica was his sister, he had started to realize the similarities between her and Lilly.

They both had blond hair. They both loved chocolate-chip mint ice cream. They tended to like the same music. And they had two opposite personalities, yet got along perfectly. It seemed only natural that they share the same taste in guys.

He knew they weren't together. But he knew that Logan loved her. Maybe not romantically, at least not yet, but he loved her.

His eyes traveled over to his ex-girlfriend and saw how she had barely touched her pizza. Duncan realized that, while Veronica had been taking care of him and Logan for the past week, no one had been taking care of her. She had lost weight which worried him that she wasn't eating. Then he saw something that broke his heart.

Logan had just moved her plate of practically untouched pizza closer to Veronica. She shook her head but Logan pushed the plate closer. Duncan knew that Veronica had no choice but to eat. Logan could get you to do anything once he put his mind to it. It seemed Veronica had this piece of knowledge as well, which was why, Duncan presumed, she picked up the piece herself and started to eat.

The door bell rang and Veronica looked to the front door. She was about to get up when Logan said, "I'll get it, you eat."

Veronica did have someone who was taking care of her. And his name was Logan.

* * *

Celeste Kane was there when Logan opened the door.

"Mrs. Kane," Logan whispered in greeting.

"Logan," she replied stoically.

He moved out of the doorway and closed the door behind her after she entered the foyer. Wordlessly, he led to the table and sat back down. Duncan had already gotten up to greet his mother and he took this time to inspect Veronica's plate. He had realized a few days ago that he hadn't seen her eat much and he could guess why. Seeing your best friend's dead body didn't really do much for your appetite.

"Hello Mrs. Kane," Veronica greeted her.

Celeste had come to bring Duncan home with her. Before Lilly's death, she would have marched right in and demanded that he come with her. But now she was different. She was timid and unconfident. She looked broken. It scared Veronica that the Ice Queen actually showed feeling.

Duncan, once again, was torn between Veronica and his mother.

His mother's new attitude had taken him by surprise. He hadn't seen her since the funeral. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. Duncan was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt that he hadn't been with his parents, even though he knew that being at the Mars' was only way for him to survive this whole ordeal. His parents were going back to their house on Saturday and he would be going back to school on Monday. It made perfect sense that Duncan go home.

On the other hand . . . .

Leaving mean Logan would be the only one left with Veronica. They would be all alone without adult supervision (considering Mr. Mars was never home anymore) and that scared Duncan.

"You don't have to worry, Duncan. I won't be alone," Veronica told him.

Ahh, so she thought that the thought of her being alone was troubling him. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

He didn't really remember packing his bag or leaving the Mars' residence. The image of Logan's arm wrapped around Veronica's waist as they slept was still burned into his brain as his mother drove the familiar route to the Kane estate.

* * *

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night Veronica had tried to sleep alone. Every night she ended up crawling into his bed. She didn't want to be dependant on him. Dependence makes you weak and sets you up for disappointment. Veronica had been dependent on her mother, and look what that led to.

It was Monday morning; the morning that she, Logan, and Duncan were returning to Neptune High School. She let Logan drive Big Bird, which had been in her drive way for the past week and a half.

Veronica went to her locker and she was relieved to find that the memorial was no longer there. However, when Veronica opened her locker, she found herself looking at pictures of herself and Lilly. Veronica and Lilly in Cancun, Veronica and Lilly at beach during homecoming, Veronica and Lilly in the le Baron on the day that Veronica got her license.

Veronica grabbed the books necessary for her first class and slammed the locked shut. She took a deep breath and refused to let the tears in her eyes overflow. The bell rang and Veronica wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Veronica!"

Veronica stopped for a minute to let the person calling to her catch up with her. It was none other than Meg Manning.

"Hi," she said quietly.

Veronica gave a weak smile in return. Other than Lilly, Meg had been her best girl friend of the 09ers. It was always a tie between Veronica and Meg of who was the least corrupt. Meg usually won on the account of Veronica was corrupt by association. Meg was the one she had most classes with, considering Logan didn't really hold academics to the greatest importance and Lilly was a grade above her.

"I took notes for you in class. I know it must be the furthest thing from your mind right now but-," Veronica interrupted her.

"Thank you. For the notes and for bringing my assignments over. It was nice to have something to take my mind off . . . things," Veronica whispered.

"It was no problem," Meg assured her.

They were just outside of the classroom when Veronica spotted Logan and Duncan by Logan's locker. Meg seemed to notice it to because she said, "Go ahead, I'll save you a seat."

Meg disappeared into the room and Veronica walked over to the two boys. "Well, this sucks," she said dryly.

Duncan laughed humorlessly, "Yeah."

"What do you say to going home and trying school next week?" Logan asked. Veronica couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"I'll see you guys second period," Veronica said before walking across the hall into her English classroom.

* * *

It was lunch time.

Veronica had taken her place on the center table on the highest platform of Neptune's outside eating-area. She tried to keep her eyes from going to the spot next to her where Lilly should be sitting.

"Veronica?" Caitlin Ford called her name.

Veronica looked up to the table to find everyone's eyes on her. "Sorry?"

"My parents are going out of town this weekend so I'm having a party. Are you coming?" she asked, her voice held a twinge of concern

"Um . . . I don't know. Probably. I'll get back to you." Veronica started to gather her stuff. "Actually, I have to go see my teacher about something. I'll see you guys later."

Without any further explanation, Veronica got up and walked away from the table. She heard someone calling her name but chose to ignore it.

Veronica walked as quickly as she could to escape the eyes of her peers. She needed to be alone. She was sick of people coming up and asking her if she was okay, of being looked at as if she were going to break down any moment.

"Ms. Mars!"

Veronica wanted to ignore the voice, but it belonged to the one and only Principal Clemmons. He had only been principal for a few weeks, on account of the last principal was fired for having an affair with a student. Veronica could tell that he was highly uncomfortable.

"Yes Mr. Clemmons?"

"I know this isn't the best time, but I was wondering if you knew Ms. Kane's locker combination. We have them all on record, but it seems Ms. Kane was somehow able to change her lock. I figured that since you are, I mean were . . ." Mr. Clemmons trailed off.

"You want me to clean out Lilly's locker?" Veronica asked uncertainly.

"I know it seems rather insensitive to be asking you this, but I figured that you would know what to keep or not," Mr. Clemmons replied.

And that was how she ended up looking at a yellow locker for the remaining of the lunch period. According to her schedule, she was supposed to be in Algebra 2 right now, but she could go. It was the one class she had had with Lilly; math being Veronica's best subject had but her in a junior class. She didn't know how long she had been standing there and looked to her watch only to find that fifth period was almost over.

With a shaky hand, Veronica began to turn the lock. For the first few days of school, Logan was an office aid. He had switched around all the lockers combo's for all the 09ers.

She opened the locker and had to catch her breath. No, not because a wave of nostalgia had just hit her, but because someone had just grabbed her elbow and forced her to face them.

"What are you doing in a locker that isn't yours?" a guy Veronica didn't know asked.

The she recognized him. He was Eli Navarro, more commonly known as Weevil. The look on his face let Veronica know that he had realized who she was as well. Veronica knew that he and Lilly had had something. Lilly hadn't told her, but Veronica had seen him at the funeral service, in the back.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he let go of her.

"Its fine," Veronica whispered.

"What are you doing?" he asked candidly.

"Clemmons asked me to clean out Lilly's locker. He didn't know the combination," she replied.

"Oh," Weevil nodded.

"You need something Paco?" Logan, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, asked.

"Besides world peace?" Weevil retorted.

"Logan," Veronica spoke up. "He wasn't doing anything."

"Yeah, I was just standing here. Haven't you heard, I'm the new hall monitor? I get to make sure you white boys don't get lost on their way to class." Weevil added.

"Hey, the ESL classroom is on the other side of the school. Don't you and your 'amigos' have class, or did you finally flunk out?"

The bell rang and kids started filing out of the classrooms; Veronica, Weevil, and Logan stayed exactly where they were.

"How's your Dad?" Weevil asked. "Did he screw this one yet?" Weevil motioned to Veronica.

Logan threw the first punch.

Within seconds, a crowd had gathered to watch the leaders of the schools two infamous cliques fight. Veronica was just glad that she was able to close Lilly's locker before it was noticed. The rest of the PCH bike gang started to make their way to front of the crowd when Dick pulled her out of the way of the fight and went in to hold back Logan. Logan shrugged off Dick as Weevil pushed off his friend and the two were at it again.

It wasn't long before Principal Clemmons and Coach Weltz showed up. Clemmons got a hold of Logan by pulling back on his shirt while Coach subdued Weevil. They were both dragged off to the office

* * *

By the end of the day word had gotten around that a) Veronica had seen entire thing with Weevil and Logan and knew why Logan punched Weevil in the first place and b) Logan and Weevil had detention every day for the next week. And since Logan had driven her to school this morning, she had to wait for Logan to get out of detention before getting home.

Not wanting to empty out Lilly's locker, she walked around school for a bit before she decided to sit at the bleachers and watch football practice. It was where some of the 09er guys hung out, but Veronica hoped that they wouldn't be there today.

Luck just wasn't on her side today.

"Hey Ronnie," Dick greeter her cautiously as he, Cassidy, Casey, and Sean came up to the bleachers. The last time she saw all of them together was when they were at her house; at Lilly's funeral.

Veronica gave them a weak smile in return. They all took a seat in the bleachers around her; far enough the give Veronica her space but close enough so that she would be included in their conversation. She knew they wanted the real story of what went down today from her, someone who actually knew what happened, instead of relying on some story concocted by Susan Knight and Carrie Bishop.

"So what was that fight about?" Dick asked to no one in particular (Although they all knew it was for Veronica).

"Very subtle," Cassidy commented sardonically.

"What do you think it was about?" Veronica asked in a tone that let them all know that she thought the answer should be obvious.

All she got were blank stares in return.

"Lilly. It was about Lilly . . . and his Dad . . . and me . . . sort of. Look, Clemmons asked me to clean out Lilly's locker. Weevil was there, we started talking, then Logan came and started talking to Weevil," she said in one breath. She thought it would be best to leave out the part where Weevil grabbed her, knowing that whatever she said would somehow get back to Logan.

"But what did Weevil say to make Logan punch him?" Casey asked.

"Something he shouldn't have said," Veronica whispered.

They were all silent for a while.

"Do you need a ride home?" Dick asked.

Veronica shook her head, "I'll wait for Logan to get out of detention."

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it," were the first words out of Logan's mouth as he approached his yellow SUV, where Veronica was waiting for him.

He got into the car and slammed the door shut before Veronica even had a chance to respond. She followed suit and got in the car. She had barely buckled her seat belt before Logan pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Are you mad at me?" Logan wanted to know when they were about halfway to her house.

"I would have liked it if you hadn't punched him, but I'm not mad," Veronica answered.

"Yeah, well, he deserved it. What were you even doing talking to him anyway?" Logan asked.

Veronica sighed, "Clemmons asked me to clean out Lilly's locker today and when Weevil saw me opening her locker he thought I was breaking in or something. He didn't know it was me. It wasn't like he was hurting me or anything. We were just talking."

"Lilly used to say the same thing," Logan said.

"I'm not Lilly," she said immediately after him.

"I know," Logan replied. "I know."

* * *

**Hope you this chapter. Please review.**


	3. Trying to Move On

**A Different Way**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Pairing: **LoVe, maybe some Duncan/Meg.

**Chapter two: Trying to Move On**

* * *

It had been a month since Lilly's death.

Logan was preparing to move back into his house, or as Dick referred to it, Casa De Killer. Aaron's trial was about to start and Lynn didn't want Logan to intrude any longer. However, Veronica knew it was because she didn't want to be alone anymore. Aaron, in the process of claiming innocence to the crowd of reporters outside his home one morning, violated his house arrest. Apparently, he took a step off his property and was now sitting in some jail cell.

Logan had allowed his mother to guilt him into moving back in, but not without protest. In the end, however, Veronica knew he had to go. It wasn't like he could stay at her house forever, no matter how much she wanted him to.

Keith had to testify and so did Logan. Veronica didn't know why Logan had to testify, and he wouldn't tell her. It had come as a shock to all three of them when it was learned Veronica, as well, had to testify. In fact, she was subpoenaed. It was delivered at school during lunch, in front of everybody.

_Veronica was sitting with the rest of the 09ers. Today's food consisted of Chinese food; she was pleased to see the Logan had made sure to order extra egg rolls._

"_Check it out," Dick pointed behind Veronica. "New teacher alert."_

_Those at the table, Logan and Duncan included, turned to see what Dick was pointing at. They saw a young man, probably just out of college, in a suit. None of the teachers in Neptune High wore three-piece suits except those on their first day, the ones trying to make a good impression._

_Everyone eating lunch seemed to notice the supposed teacher as he made his way toward the 09er tables. _

"_Veronica Mars?" the man read off the blue envelope in his hands._

"_That's me," Veronica stood up, a little uncertain as to what was going on. She noticed that Logan stood as well, in almost a protective manner._

_He handed her the blue envelope, "You've been served," the man said before walking away._

"_What is it?" Logan asked as he peered at the paper from over her shoulder. _

_Veronica didn't answer right away so Logan asked her again. She seemed to be in a daze and when she didn't answer, he took the paper from her hands and led her back to the table to sit down. _

"_You're being called as a character witness," Logan read incredulously. _

In a strange way, things really were getting back to normal. Well, at least to a new normal; a normal without Lilly around. Veronica, along with Logan's help, had cleaned out Lilly's locker. Logan had been outraged that Clemmons had asked her to do so in the first place, but he had gotten over it. There hadn't been any other major run-ins with the PCHers.

Her classes were going well and her grades were good. She and Duncan were somewhat friends and Logan was just . . . Logan.

She had managed to sleep alone for the past week and a half, save for the night following her coming home to find the fake id's, which she and Lilly had made a week before her death, in the mail. When Logan had come back to her house after his detention and found her sobbing on the kitchen floor, he scooped her up and lay with her in his bed until she fell asleep. The thing was, he fell asleep moments before she did.

* * *

"That's the last of it," Veronica said as she dropped the suitcase full of Logan's stuff onto the floor of Logan's room.

Veronica noticed he had a new bed, new sheets, and a new comforter. It didn't take a genius to guess why. They hadn't talked about Lilly. She didn't know what Logan was thinking or feeling about the fact that Lilly was sleeping with his father.

"I only had two bags and I carried one of them," Logan deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, when people move in to new place it's what they say when they're done unpacking.

"Veronica, this had been my room since I was twelve."

"You know what I mean," she whispered.

He nodded in agreement before taking a seat on his bed. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked. "By yourself, I mean?"

Veronica shrugged, "I guess. I mean, we have a security system and-."

"No," Logan interrupted, "I mean will you be _okay_. It seems like your Dad's never home and without me there whose going to be there to take care of you?"

"I can take care of myself," she replied quickly.

"Well, just know that my door is open. . . I mean if you need a place to stay," Logan told her.

She looked up into his eyes for a moment before answering, "Thanks," she whispered. Her voice returned to normal when she said, "I'm going to go. I'll see you at school."

* * *

Veronica had never had trouble being home alone. In fact, she had preferred it.

After spending the day with Lily, anyone would need some alone time. A few hours to their selves in order to re-group. With her dad as Sheriff, she was used to having the house to herself at night. He and her mother had parties to go to. A banquet for the mayor or some other important figure in town would keep them out past midnight; those types of things came up weekly in Neptune. When her mother left, the nights she was left alone were more frequent. Nights that her father spent home were few and far between.

She wasn't scared of the dark or the noises that seemed to come from nowhere. Veronica knew that nine out of ten times, the thing behind her that kept moving was either her shadow or Back-up. Plus, her father had taught her how to shoot a gun long ago, and had told her where it was kept, just in case.

Still, that night, the first night she had been alone in her house since Lily died, was a sleepless night for her. When she closed her eyes she saw Lily's body sprawled out across the pool deck, her hair matted with blood. It made her sick. She didn't dare close her eyes after that.

That night, Veronica sat up in her bed with her laptop. She heard her father come in around two and then heard him leave again at six. It was then that she ventured out of her room. Without anyone else there the night before, she had forgotten to eat and after downing a pot of coffee that morning, she wasn't that hungry.

Once she was at school, and Logan saw her, he knew something was wrong.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her once she joined her at her locker.

"Yeah," she yawned.

The bell rang and she headed toward class. Logan followed.

"You look terrible," he said.

"Gee, thanks," Veronica grimaced.

"No, seriously," he continued, "did you get and sleep last night?"

"I'm fine," Veronica insisted, turning into her first period class. She sunk into her usual seat, next to Meg while behind Dick, and listened to whatever her English teacher had to say.

Or at least she would have if she hadn't fallen asleep.

* * *

"Veronica, wake up, you're just dreaming," Meg's voice seeped into her dream.

Suddenly, Lilly's dead body was nowhere to be seen and she wasn't in the Kane's backyard, but in a classroom. Tears were running down her face and she was breathing heavily. All eyes were on her, even the teacher looked worried.

"C-can I go to the nurse's office?" she whispered. The room was go quiet that the teacher had no problem hearing her, and nodded. Veronica tried to stop herself from shaking as she gathered her stuff and exited the room.

"Veronica!"

All the sudden, Logan came running towards her.

"Are you okay? Dick texted me, said you were having a fit. What the hell, Ronnie?"

What a scene they must have made.

A tiny blond girl with tears streaming down her face, shaking, and a guy who was easily a foot taller than her, bending down to be eye level with her. He looked worried while she looked terrified as he held on to her by her elbows.

"I had a bad dream," she said simply, on the verge of more tears.

"Do you want to go home?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'll be okay. Seriously, I just had a bad dream. I didn't really get much sleep last night. People have them all the time," she tried to play it off.

"Bullshit," he replied. "Veronica, you're shaking. You fell asleep in class and woke up screaming," he admonished.

"I wasn't screaming," she mumbled.

"Whatever. The fact that you of all people fell asleep in class in the first place-," he was cut off.

"I told you, I didn't get a lot of sleep!" she exclaimed.

"Veronica, you're a really bad liar," Logan let out.

No she wasn't. In fact, between being best friends with Lilly Kane and being the Sheriff's daughter, Veronica had perfected the art of lying. It was why she was so good at poker. Maybe it was the person she was lying to.

"Or I didn't get any sleep," she revised her statement. "I couldn't," she whispered.

Logan was about to say something when footsteps were heard running down the hall. The owner was none other than Duncan Kane.

"Veronica!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. Duncan took his place beside his best friend. "Are you okay? I got a text saying you went berserk of something."

"I had a bad dream, okay!" Veronica was getting a little annoyed of having to repeat herself.

"You fell asleep in class?" Duncan asked, just as surprised as Logan had been.

"I was a little tired, its not a big deal!" she exclaimed.

"No, the big deal is you're having nightmares in class because you're too tired from staying up all night, trying to avoid having the same nightmares at home," Logan replied, her voice rising.

The bell rang before she could reply and students started to file out of the classrooms. Veronica noticed the people in her English class were looking at her strangely. She went to go to her locker, but it seemed Logan had different plans. His grip on her arm tightened and pulled her in the opposite direction of where she was headed.

"Logan!"

Either he couldn't hear her or he chose to ignore her, Veronica assumed the latter. He kept pulling her through the hallway, to the library, and to the back of the library.

"Logan, I have class-,"

"You have study hall," he cut her off gently. "So you have to talk to the lawyers today?"

Veronica didn't have any idea where he was going with this, but answered him anyway. "Yes. I think your father's lawyers are want me to inadvertently say Lilly was a slut or something. They're trying to destroy her character," she told him. "Logan, what are you going to say in court?"

"Not now Veronica," Logan said in a grave voice.

Veronica could tell he was about to add something, but was interrupted by two obnoxious boys, most likely freshman, laughing at something that was on the computer.

"What, did you find someway to unlock the porn or something?" he asked sarcastically.

One of the boys actually smirked at him. "Something like that," he answered, laughing.

The other boy turned on the speakers to the computer and left, probably to find it on another computer. Logan was about to turn back to Veronica when he heard someone moaning. He recognized the sound. It was . . . .

Logan jumped up from the chair and ran to the computer that the two boys had been using. Veronica approached him cautiously, watching him watch the screen. She saw his eyes fill up with tears before he ran away.

There, on the computer screen, was Lilly Kane and Aaron Echolls having sex.

Veronica ran after him.

She got there in the nick of time, too. He was about to open the door to his car before she snatched the keys away from him. He didn't even put up an argument.

That's when Veronica really started to worry.

* * *

It wasn't hard for Keith to find out who did it.

Around eight o'clock that morning, Keith had begun to receive phone calls from various magazines, questioning the validity of the movie that was currently on the internet. He had no idea what they were talking about, but it didn't take him long to find out. Ten minutes later he was in the evidence room seeing a blank portion of the shelf where the tapes should be. Now he was in his office, waiting for Deputy Sacks to give him the surveillance tape of the evidence room.

Keith had always been good at hiding cameras.

He would have liked to say he was surprised when, twenty minutes later, he saw Lamb sneak into the evidence room, unaware that he was being taped.

But he wasn't.

* * *

Aaron Echols's team of lawyers had called Veronica to notify her that they wouldn't be in need of her testimony. The next day, at Aaron's arraignment, he pleaded guilty. It seems the lawyers thought that, due to the tapes being stolen and plastered all over the internet, Aaron would get a lighter sentence if he pleaded guilty.

Basically, he realized he couldn't act his way out of this one.

Veronica drove Logan to her house. All Logan did during the drive was stare out the window. He didn't say anything or even cry. It seemed to Veronica that the weight of what Aaron did was finally clear to Logan. Almost as if seeing the tapes made it real. After all, Logan didn't see her dead body.

Without a word, Logan got out of the car as soon as Veronica pulled into her driveway. He waited as she unlocked and opened the door and followed her inside the house.

She didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to comfort him? Was she even supposed to talk at all? Veronica didn't know. He went into the kitchen and started searching the cabinets. She had a pretty good idea what he was looking for.

"You're not going to find any. Dad threw all the liquor out when Mom left," she told him.

He looked at her for a moment, as if thinking what he was going to say, before looking to the hall. The doorbell had just rung. Surprising Veronica, Logan went to answer the door himself.

Veronica made it to the door just in time to hear Logan say, "Come in friend." Standing in her doorway was Duncan Kane . . .

. . . holding two huge bottles of Jack Daniels.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to update. Please Review. **


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